Holiday Hills man accused of threatening to chop up neighbors while holding ax, chainsaw

Prosecutors alleged a Holiday Hills man threatened to chop up his neighbors and throw them into a salad.

John White, 57, of the 2500 block of Driftwood Drive, is charged with violating a no-contact order and disorderly conduct, criminal misdemeanors, according to a criminal complaint filed in the McHenry County court.

White made an initial court appearance Friday, where Judge Carl Metz ordered that White be detained in the county jail awaiting trial.

Assistant State’s Attorney Stephan Gregorowicz argued White is a danger to the community as well as the alleged victims. The prosecutor also detailed a history of alleged violent crimes including convictions for resisting police officers.

White “has been a threat to society his entire life,” Gregorowicz said, adding White violated an emergency no-contact order when he made “extremely disturbing statements” on Thursday, three days after receiving the order of protection. Gregorowicz said the incident was caught on camera.

White, who the prosecutor said has access to dangerous weapons, allegedly yelled that he would be “chopping them up when this is all done” and and putting them “into a salad.” He also said he would have blood on his hands, Gregorowicz said. According to the criminal complaint, White made threats while holding an ax and a chainsaw.

“No conditions can keep the community or his neighbors safe and law enforcement would not be able to respond quick enough,” Gregorowicz said.

Assistant Public Defender David Giesinger referred to the situation as a dispute between neighbors and said White is a tree cutter, explaining why he is in possession of an ax and a chainsaw.

“They are tools of his trade,” Giesinger said. Possessing such tools, then, “would make any tree cutter a danger to society,” the public defender argued. Giesinger also said White is participating in mental health court and looking forward to an upcoming hearing.

Gregorowicz responded: “Clearly, mental health court is not helping.”

In detaining White, Metz said the court “is disturbed by the threats with an ax and chainsaw made to two different sets of neighbors. The court finds that no conditions could mitigate the risk [White] poses of carrying out the threats he made to the victims.”

In the request for the order of protection filed on Sept. 11, the petitioner said that two days before, White “threatened on multiple occasions to cut off my head, rearrange my face, cut me up with a chainsaw, wrap [an] extension cord around my neck. He threatened to destroy my property. On Sunday multiple neighbors called the police due to the threats he was yelling. ... He has also yelled at our daughter. He has also yelled racial comments about our daughter’s friends,” the petition said.

On Aug. 1, according to the request for the order of protection, White threatened the petitioner with an ax “stating he has it sharpened just for me. He also takes a pole saw and puts it against his throat motioning that is going to cut my throat. He threatens without being provoked. He also states that he would have me dead before the police could arrive due to how sharp his blade is.”